Birmingham: Ratchanok Intanon will make a comeback to the court at the All England Open today.
The 22-year-old Thai, who has not played since her early exit at the World Superseries Finals in December, will meet Sayaka Sato of Japan in the first round of the women's singles.
On paper, world No.8 Ratchanok, the fifth seed, should be able to finish off the No.19-ranked opponent.
Although Ratchanok holds a 5-2 record against the Japanese in their head-to-head meetings, she is cautious about her chances.
"I have just returned to training recently and am not fully fit yet," said the 2013 world champion.
"I will take it one match at a time."
But the Thai is hoping to reach the All England quarter-finals for the third time in a row.
Ratchanok, who was runner-up in Birmingham in 2013, is likely to face Olympic champion and world No.2 Carolina Marin if she advances to the last eight.
"We know each other well. I think I would have a chance of beating her," Ratchanok said.
The Thai holds a 4-1 lead over the Spaniard in their head-to-head encounters.
Also in the women's singles today, world No.147 Nitchaon Jindapol is up against world No.1 Tai Tzu Ying of Taiwan.
No.12 Busanan Ongbamrungphan, the other Thai in the women's singles, will take on No.15 Chen Yufei of China.
Busanan edged the Chinese 2-1 in the semi-finals on her way to winning the Thailand Masters title last month.
World No.10 mixed doubles pair Dechapol Puavaranukroh and Sapsiree Taerattanachai face a formidable task against top-ranked Zheng Siwei and Chen Qingchen from China.
No.12 Tanongsak Saenbomboonsuk, the only Thai in the men's singles, opens against Denmark's Hans-Kristian Solberg Vittinghus, who is just one place below him in the rankings.
Meanwhile, Lee Chong Wei appears to have won his race against time to make an against-the-odds bid for another title in the last All England Open of his career this week.
It seemed that the world No.1 might be denied a farewell to the famous tournament, following early prognoses on knee ligament damage which suggested he could be out for several weeks.
Lee's name is on the schedule for today's first round match and the Malaysian is determined to take part in what will almost certainly be his last appearance at the world's oldest badminton tournament.
It means that Lee, three times an Olympic silver medallist, and Lin Dan, three times an Olympic champion, may yet star together in a last episode of the most famous rivalry of all time -- long after it seemed over.
The tenaciously light-footed Malaysian and the charismatic Chinese left-hander have landed in opposite halves of the draw, which means Sunday's final could produce their 38th encounter.
Lin and Lee both spoke about saying goodbye before the 2012 Olympics in London, but after playing an epic final against each other, both changed their minds and soldiered on through injury-troubled years until the 2016 Games in Rio.
Farewells will certainly be said at this venue -- and possibly to each other.
Lin has avoided responding to the continual retirement gossip but Lee has suggested that he won't play another All England.
"I am ready for it [retirement]," he said. "And I really want to go."
Though he may be trying to battle on till August, and attempting to win another title narrowly to have eluded him -- the World Championships -- Lee will surely not continue beyond that.
Lin's motives for hanging on are less clear but are probably related to his still being the sport's biggest draw, and the financial incentives that offers.
He could win the All England Open a seventh time, though he is seeded only sixth after losing to Lee at the Olympics and then not competing for six months.